Thirteen-Card Spread - Mariana in Paris (Paperback)

Mariana in Paris - an esoteric medieval mystery. Lady Marian MacElpin is now an unofficial student at the university in Paris: to be admitted to lectures, she has to pretend to be a man. But it is to her that the other students turn when one is charged with the murder of his rich uncle, a reputed alchemist. She quickly discovers that the murder (and a second related murder) had their roots far away on the island of Ibiza eighteen years before, and involve not only alchemy and the tarot and (of course, with Mariana there) witchcraft (one of the witches, known as La Fille d'Or, turns out to have been for years the secret mistress of Charles VI, King of France), but also a one-armed Albanian "king" of the Paris underworld, and such well-known historical figures as Christine de Pisan (then a girl of thirteen), and Nicolas Flamel, the alchemist (later Grand Master of the outlawed Prieure de Sion). "My favourite, so far, in this cross-genre medieval mystery/fantasy series. A feast, spiced with comedy (Mariana can't help it) and, towards the end, real horror." (MedievalMysteries.com) "Astonishing ... enthralling, exciting and sometimes shocking ... Munro's research, his knowledge and use of historical detail, are thorough, as is his description of fourteenth-century Paris ... Full marks for a 300 page read which is very difficult to put down." (Lulu.com) "There is more medieval magic and mystery in this one book than in any ten of the others. And more horror. Some scenes are ... mesmerising. Medieval Paris is unforgettably depicted ... astonishing how this very male writer gets into the heart and soul of the all-female Mariana." (eBook-Mall.com)